The anime has been licensed, but the VN hasn't been released. There is a fan translation though. I tried that first, but the game's story moves really slowly. The anime has been faulted for starting off slow, but that is with the first 8 episodes, vs. the first 18 hours.

I've never heard anything about Steins;Gate, but I'm in the mood for a new visual novel. Is there anywhere I can buy it in English, or was it never released over here?

I don't think any of 5bp's games have been released in English. They're pretty protective of their IP and most of the places that do visual novel localization are quite...budget. Steins;Gate already has a following from the very popular anime so it seems like a reasonable candidate for a high-profile visual novel release, but I don't know all the politics there...

That said if you get the PC version you can probably find a translation patch.

JAST has been teasing a possible localization of Steins;Gate VN for over a year, and are supposed to have a definite announcement concerning whither or not they are going to license it sometime this summer.

I have never watched any Gundam. Where should I start? Or should I start?

Gundam is a pretty variable franchise, but if I had to recommend one to a newcomer, it'd either be 0080 War In the Pocket because it's both short and very good, or the original series movies if you don't mind older animation.

Are the Original Gundam Movies any good? I never saw them, but I heard they were really rushed. I just can't imagine a 43 episode series translating that well to 3 movies, especially since, aside from maybe 2 or 3 episodes and a few bits here and there, I felt like everything was important in some way, at least to me. Maybe it's my nostalgia talking, but I somehow doubt a few movies could have the same or greater impact than the full series would have. I'd be happy to be proven wrong, of course, since I've never had a chance to see them.

The original Gundam movies was the very first Gundam I watched after years of playing with models and figuring that for once maybe I should watch a show attached to them. I loved them instantly and honestly even after watching the TV show I'd actually argue they work better as movies. The original series has a ton of bad guy of the week stuff and lots of pretty horrible animation (even moreso than the movies).

If nothing else, the original series made a much easier transition to movie form than just about every other Gundam that has gotten the same treatment.

Yeah, I'll recommend the Original Gundam in movie form too. The original series isn't bad but good luck tracking it down.

That said, I'd also recommend Zeta Gundam, though not in movie format as a lot more that happens in that show pushes the plot along and is generally less episodic than OYW.

Actually most UC Gundam shows tend to be okay at least (well aside from the latter half of ZZ Gundam, pretty much any time a female shows up in Victory Gundam, F91 Gundam which should've been a show instead of a movie, and 0083 Stardust Memories because the leads kinda suck). Meanwhile the only AU Gundam series that don't suck are G Gundam and Turn A Gundam (poor Turn X had serious potential but got canned before it could get to the payout, Double O Gundam had a decent start followed by a shitty second season and a horrid movie, and somewhere in there Gundam Wing has at least some redeeming value, though don't ask me what that is aside from the fact that Noin is seriously probably one of the best female pilots in the entire franchise).

As for Eureka 7 (or Errecta Schlebein because if we're going to mispronounce names and words, we might as well go whole hog on the deal), it's a show that needs to be watched twice. Once to go through it blind and get utterly confused by all the terminology getting thrown around and brandied about, and again after you are aware of the big plot twist revealed near the end of the show. Basically, the majority of the show is telling you everything you need to know about what's going on and what important thing is happening next aside from the context in which any of it makes any goddamn sense. Your first watch is basically going to be about watching Renton's character development from snot nosed kid who accidentally fell into a Gundam Nirvash to level headed young adult with aspirations towards the future. Your second watch (provided you made it to the end of your first go or you got spoilered on the plot twist) is going to constitute on seeing just how much everything ties into the overall plot and the imminent crisis.

But yeah, even then the show is kinda slow until you hit the part where Renton runs away from the Gecko State, after which the show stops dicking around and starts speeling the beans.

Yeah, I'll recommend the Original Gundam in movie form too. The original series isn't bad but good luck tracking it down.

That said, I'd also recommend Zeta Gundam, though not in movie format as a lot more that happens in that show pushes the plot along and is generally less episodic than OYW.

Actually most UC Gundam shows tend to be okay at least (well aside from the latter half of ZZ Gundam, pretty much any time a female shows up in Victory Gundam, F91 Gundam which should've been a show instead of a movie, and 0083 Stardust Memories because the leads kinda suck). Meanwhile the only AU Gundam series that don't suck are G Gundam and Turn A Gundam (poor Turn X had serious potential but got canned before it could get to the payout, Double O Gundam had a decent start followed by a shitty second season and a horrid movie, and somewhere in there Gundam Wing has at least some redeeming value, though don't ask me what that is aside from the fact that Noin is seriously probably one of the best female pilots in the entire franchise).

As for Eureka 7 (or Errecta Schlebein because if we're going to mispronounce names and words, we might as well go whole hog on the deal), it's a show that needs to be watched twice. Once to go through it blind and get utterly confused by all the terminology getting thrown around and brandied about, and again after you are aware of the big plot twist revealed near the end of the show. Basically, the majority of the show is telling you everything you need to know about what's going on and what important thing is happening next aside from the context in which any of it makes any goddamn sense. Your first watch is basically going to be about watching Renton's character development from snot nosed kid who accidentally fell into a Gundam Nirvash to level headed young adult with aspirations towards the future. Your second watch (provided you made it to the end of your first go or you got spoilered on the plot twist) is going to constitute on seeing just how much everything ties into the overall plot and the imminent crisis.

But yeah, even then the show is kinda slow until you hit the part where Renton runs away from the Gecko State, after which the show stops dicking around and starts speeling the beans.

I too recommend Zeta, but not usually to newcomers since it's a pretty long show. Despite the internet being a lot more critical of the show than it was about a decade ago when the western Gundam fanbase was a lot smaller I still consider it one of the best.

I'm surprised you don't like the latter half of ZZ, most people who love Zeta hated the first half and vice versa as far as I know. F91 is pretty bad. 0083 has some pretty horrible characters but if you like nice animation, you'll be wow'd the whole time- the show looks great. G gundam is its own thing (and pretty awesome for it), Turn A is one of the greats. I actually really love Gundam X myself despite the rushed ending- MSG got cancelled too, after all. I just really wish there was more information out there about how the show was supposed to go, because the original plan for MSG is out there and most people think it's a lot worse than what we actually got. I love Gundam X for its characters and overall themes, but I never liked that most of the side characters got the shaft and that the world building wasn't as in-depth as I would've liked.

Only thing I'd take home from Gundam Wing myself are the badass Gundam designs (and/or all the prettyboys if you're a lady I guess).

AGE doesn't deserve mention other than as an example of what not to do. I look forward to seeing/using crazy grandpa Flit in SRW, though.

I'm actually rewatching 00 right now because I've never seen the movie and I figured I'd rewatch the show again to re-familiarize myself before I moved on. I remember not liking the second season but I haven't gotten there yet. I forgot how good this show was in its first season- it has a really good balance of characters and politics, and the multi-viewpoint story is what I really love. Only thing that bothers me is how the Gundam feel invincible for a great portion of the show but at least they make note of it in-universe. It loses pretty much all of that in the second season and became lots of "MARIEEEEE" and "LOUIIIIIISE" combined with an oversaturation of stupid Gundam tropes. It's like they were trying to make up for the first season being relatively fresh.

Also, say what you will about 00, but it has probably the best death scene in the whole franchise. Mizushima's a good director, that's for sure.

Interesting notes about E7- I've actually only ever watched the show once and that was when it came out. I remember the twist and that the show was focused on Renton/Eureka but aside from that I actually forgot a large amount of the show other than that it was really pretty and it had a great eclectic soundtrack. I might rewatch the show after 00 since you've brought these things up.